UNESCO education prize goes to UK institution for first time
NIACE was presented with the UNESCO King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the use of ICTs in Education at an awards ceremony at UNESCO headquarters on 12 January 2011. Attendees included laureates from the two winning institutions (NIACE and the Infocentro Foundation of Venezuela), the Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain and Mrs Irina Bokova, the UNESCO Director General. Download the acceptance speech delivered by Alastair Clark on behalf of NIACE from the documents sidebar.
The UK’s National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) has been named a laureate of the 2010 UNESCO King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education. This is the first time a UK organisation has won this prestigious prize.
The winners of the Prize, focused this year on the theme Digital Literacy: Preparing Adult Learners for Lifelong Learning and Flexible Employment, were selected on the recommendation of an international jury.
Alastair Clark, NIACE's lead on Digital Learning, said:
This award is very gratefully received. NIACE's programmes - which seek to ensure that no learner is denied access to the benefits of technology - are the result of years of hard work from a dedicated team. NIACE's research into digital learning has been able to inform the way that we have devised and delivered national programmes of staff training and organisation-wide application of technology.”
Read UNESCO’s interview with Alistair Clark here.
The Jury were impressed that NIACE had played a key role in helping to set up a national network of 6,000 internet access centres to serve adults in both rural and urban settings. Close to 3,000 E-Guides were trained as tutors to work with adults supported by national and regional networks. NIACE is also considered to provide an exemplary model to other countries looking to help adults achieve digital literacy.
The National Institute for Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) is the leading non-governmental organization promoting the interests of adult learners in England and Wales.
The Infocentro Foundation from Venezuela was also selected as a winner for its project “Technological Literacy for Older Adults”. The Foundation is a governing body supported by the Venezuela Ministry of Popular Power for Science and Technology, providing free access to ICTs to enable adults and other users in achieving lifelong learning.
The Director-General will present the Prize – a diploma and US$25,000 – to each of the laureates at a ceremony on 12 January, 2011 at UNESCO Headquarters.
Written: 20/12/2010 , last modified: 03/02/2011
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Alastair Clark from NIACE delivers an acceptance speech at the Fifth Award Ceremony of the UNESCO King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICTs in Education
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Laureates with UNESCO Direcotr-General Mrs Irina Bokova and the Deputy Prim Minister of Bahrain at the UNESCO King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICTs in Education awards ceremony
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Alastair Clark accepts NIACE's UNESCO King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICTs in Education from Mrs Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, at the awards ceremony in Paris
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The four laureates represent winning projects and institutions at the 2011 UNESCO King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICTs in Education awards ceremony at UNESCO
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Movies
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NIACE video - The UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize
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Documents